Estimation with no historical data: a Monte Carlo approach
Estimation with no historical data: a Monte Carlo approach
By Sanzio Castor, MSc, CSM
Better estimates can significantly change the course of a software development project and its budget results. This article proposes to use a basic Monte Carlo...
A Cure for Task Estimation Obsession: Just Don't Do It
Can you streamline sprint planning by eliminating task estimates? Alan Atlas says, "Yes, you can!" Find out when it's possible and how to get there.
The Case of the Time Tyrant: Don't Play Whodunit with Ideal Hours
In the hunt for clues as to how to manage an agile team, the sprint backlog can seem like a major breakthrough. Finally! A list of tasks broken down by person and estimated. What a find! Not so fast, Sherlock. Your search for "who's doing what and when" is leading you down the wrong track.
Keep Your Team Seeing RED
How focusing on Requirements gathering, estimation, and delivery (RED) can keep your project in the green.
Predictability in Action
Agile estimation gives you the right answer, even if it’s not the one you want to hear.
Perfect Planning: Best Practices for Successful Sprint Planning
Well-formed, hyper-productive agile teams exhibit certain common traits and have shared best practices. Find out how these teams approach sprint planning.
Language for Discussing Releases
"I'm taking off a letter grade because this wasn't turned in on the due date." "Don't be late!" Growing up, we quickly understand that being late is a bad thing. So when a project runs behind, we do whatever it takes to turn it around, even if those behaviors do more harm than good. Agile projects need a to discuss releases in a way that removes the guilt and focuses on appropriate action.
What's your sign? Find out what your burndown signature says about your team.
Burndown graphs are commonly used in Scrum projects to give the team an understanding of the amount of work remaining for the Sprint (or iteration). In Ken's own words:
“As a team works together, it develop its own style of creating ...
Scrum in a Fixed-Date Environment
Sure, Scrum is great for some projects, but can it work for a complex project with hard release dates and changing requirements? Find out what happened when we gave it a try.



